Label:
Sanctuary
Release Date:
11/10/2004

A nifty touch of dualism from the comeback man of the year: ‘love the aesthetic of me / love the warm heart I possess’ – he just can’t decide, the poor man. What would have happened if Stephen Patrick was born ugly, eh?

Certainly this musical cousin of ‘The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get’ ticks all the boxes; that trademark Moz vocal sigh, the sweeping balladry, the arch, almost subversive lyricism – it’s all there. So why are we so unmoved?

Perhaps after the triumphant highs of his returning singles, gigs and album, this just falls a little flat. It’s not classic Morrissey, like ‘Last Of The Gang To Die’, it’s more solid, mid-period Morrissey, and after the standards he’s set recently, it just won’t do.